How to make a Cross Cut Sled

A Cross Cut Sled is a handy fixture in any shop. It can be used to cut small pieces square and as an index for making dental mold and box joints.
A simple cross cut sled can be made from ¾” plywood with hard wood ends and steel runners. All of the parts can be bought from your local home center. All you need is a scrap of ¾” plywood (chose a good flat piece that is slightly larger in width than the miter slots in your table saw and about 14” long). You can also use melamine or MDO plywood, if you can find some, but any good flat stock will do. Pick up a short piece of ¼” x ¾” x 28” flat stock steel. (Home centers usually carry it in 3’ lengths). Test it to make sure that it slides freely but snug in your miter slot. If it is too tight, dress it to fit using a flat file. Cut the steel into two pieces the length of your plywood base. Drill and counter sink three holes in each piece. Cut two pieces of good straight surfaced 8/4 hard wood that will fit the width of your plywood base and glue and screw them to each end of the base. Be sure to counter sink the screws. Place the steel bars in the miter slots and using double face tape, cut to slightly the ¾” width of the runners. Place the plywood squarely on to the steel runners. Carefully pick up the plywood with the runners stuck to the plywood. Install screws in the 3 holes in each runner. Test the sled to ensure that it slides freely in the miter slots. Make sure that no screws holding the hard wood in place are in the path of the blade. Bring the blade up about 1-1/2”. Start the saw and cut the base of the sled. Cut a scrap and check to insure that it is cutting square.